Card fitting mechanism having a plurality of card receiving portions and yet capable of being reduced in size

ABSTRACT

In a card fitting mechanism for receiving a card fitted thereto, a plurality of card receiving portions are arranged parallel to one another. Each of the card receiving portions is adapted to receive the card. A guiding member is disposed between adjacent ones of the card receiving portions so as to enter into adjacent ones of the card receiving portions. When the card is inserted in only one of the adjacent card receiving portions, the guiding member is moved by the card to serve as a guide for guiding the card that is inserted into another of the adjacent card receiving portions.

This application claims priority to prior Japanese patent application JP2003-311703, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a card fitting mechanism for use in anelectronic apparatus adapted to receive a plurality of cards fitted orset thereto.

An electronic apparatus of the type is disclosed, for example, inJapanese Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. H8-7047 and comprisesa housing and a card fitting mechanism incorporated into the housing.The card fitting mechanism has a plurality of card fitting platesarranged on a predetermined plane and adjacent to one another in a firstdirection. Each of the card fitting plates has a pair of guide wallsformed on opposite sides in the first direction to guide opposite sidesurfaces of a card. The card is inserted in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction to a space between the guide wallsof the card fitting plate. Thus, the card is easily inserted into andremoved from the space on the card fitting plate.

However, each of the card fitting plates has the guide walls. Thisstructure requires a large additional space and is not suitable for asmall-sized electronic apparatus.

In case where a connector to be connected to the cards fitted to theelectronic apparatus is combined with the card fitting mechanism,various problems, such as a recognition error, a mounting error, asoldering defect after reflow soldering, tend to frequently occur as anexternal dimension is greater.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cardfitting mechanism having a plurality of card receiving portions and yetcapable of being reduced in size.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a card fittingmechanism capable of improving an operability upon inserting a pluralityof cards into a plurality of card receiving portions.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cardfitting mechanism capable of preventing an insertion error even in acase where plural cards are inserted.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cardfitting mechanism capable of achieving high-density mounting withoutincreasing an external dimension.

Other objects of the present invention will become clear as thedescription proceeds.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided acard fitting mechanism for receiving a card fitted thereto, the cardfitting mechanism comprising a plurality of card receiving portionsarranged parallel to one another, each of the card receiving portionsbeing adapted to receive the card, and a guiding member disposed betweenadjacent ones of the card receiving portions so as to enter intoadjacent ones of the card receiving portions, the guiding member beingmoved by insertion of the card into only one of the adjacent ones toserve as a guide for guiding insertion of the card into another of theadjacent ones.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a card fitting mechanism according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 1 with aplurality of cards inserted therein;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 1before a first card is inserted therein;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 1 before thefirst card is inserted therein;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 6when the first card is partly inserted;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 7 after thefirst card is inserted therein;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 8when a second card is partly inserted after the first card is inserted;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 1 after acard of a different shape is inserted therein;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 10 when thecard of the different shape is partly inserted; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the card fitting mechanism in FIG. 11after the card of the different shape is inserted therein.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a card fitting mechanism according to anembodiment of the present invention will be described.

The card fitting mechanism illustrated in the figure is adapted forreceiving or setting cards 31 each having a plate-like shape, such as anIC card, and comprises a pair of guide frames 11 arranged in parallel toeach other with a predetermined space, a base plate 13 supporting theguide frames 11 on its upper surface, a connector 15 having oppositeends held between ends of the guide frames 11, and a guiding member 17disposed on the base plate 13 between the guide frames 11.

The base plate 13 is mounted to an electronic apparatus (not shown).Specifically, the base plate 13 is fixed to a printed circuit board (notshown) mounted to the electronic apparatus by inserting screws intoscrew holes 11 b formed on the guide frames 11, respectively. An upperspace defined on the base plate 13 is separated by the guiding member 17between the guide frames 11 into a first card receiving portion 13 a anda second card receiving portion 13 b. Onto the upper surface of the baseplate 13, the cards 31 are fitted with sliding movement in apredetermined sliding direction, i.e., a first direction A. Thus, thecards 31 are fitted to the first and the second card receiving portions13 a and 13 b along the upper surface of the base plate 13. In FIG. 2,the cards 31 are identical in shape and size and fitted in parallel toeach other on left and right sides in the figure as depicted byimaginary lines.

The connector 15 comprises an insulator 15 a and a plurality ofconductive contacts 21 held in the insulator 15 a. Each of the contacts21 has a contacting portion 21 a to be contacted with a card-sidecontacting portions (not shown) of the card 31, a holding portion (notshown) held by the insulator 15 a, and a terminal portion 21 c extendingfrom the holding portion to the outside of the insulator 15 a. Theterminal portion 21 c is connected by soldering to a conductive portionformed on the above-mentioned printed circuit board. Since the connector15 for connecting the card 31 is provided, the card fitting mechanismmay be called a card connector.

The guiding member 17 is located at a generally intermediate positionbetween the first and the second card receiving portions 13 a and 13 band rotatably supported on the base plate 13 through a shaft portion 41.The guiding member 17 has a first guide portion 17 a and a second guideportion 17 b connected to the first guide portion 17 a. Namely, theguiding member 17 is designed as an assembly comprising a plurality ofparts. The second guide portion 17 b is provided with a connecting shaftportion 44 extending in a direction perpendicular to the base plate 13.To the connecting shaft portion 44, the first guide portion 17 a and afirst spring member 43 are rotatably fixed. The first and the secondguide portions 17 a and 17 b are urged by the spring member 43 to bealigned in a single straight line. Thus, the first guide portion 17 a isrotatable with respect to the second guide portion 17 b. Normally, thefirst and the second guide portions 17 a and 17 b are aligned along asingle straight line under urging force of the spring member 43.

The second guide portion 17 b is supported by the shaft portion 41 ofthe base plate 13 to be rotatable in second and third directions B andC. The second guide portion 17 b has an extended portion extending to arear side of the connector 15 and provided with a spring fixing portion17 c. The spring fixing portion 17 c is engaged with one of hooks of asecond spring member, namely, a tension coil spring 49. The other hookof the tension coil spring 49 is engaged with an engaging part 13 c ofthe base plate 13. Thus, the guiding member 17 is urged in the thirddirection C around the shaft portion 41. As a consequence, in anuninserted state where the cards 31 are not inserted into the first andthe second card receiving portions 13 a and 13 b as illustrated in FIG.1, the guiding member 17 is rotated in the third direction C around theshaft portion 41 and located at a right-hand position in the figure.Therefore, the first guide portion 17 a is located in the second cardreceiving portion 13 b.

The base plate 13 is provided with first and second stopper portions 45and 46 for fixing the first guide portion 17 a. When an end portion ofthe first guide portion 17 a is engaged with the first stopper portion45 as depicted by a solid line in FIG. 1, the first guide portion 17 ais fixed to be aligned with the second guide portion 17 b in a singlestraight line. When the end portion of the first guide portion 17 a isengaged with the second stopper portion 46 as depicted by a dot-and-dashline in FIG. 1, the first guide portion 17 a is fixed to beperpendicular to the second guide portion 17 b.

In the uninserted state mentioned above, the first guide portion 17 a isengaged with the first stopper portion 45. Therefore, the card 31 partlyinserted into the second card receiving portion 13 b is engaged with thefirst guide portion 17 a and inhibited from further insertion. Thus, thecard 31 can be inserted only into the first card receiving portion 13 a.

When the card 31 is inserted into the first card receiving portion 13 a,the second guide portion 17 b is pressed by the card 31 and rotated inthe second direction B against the tension coil spring 49. As aconsequence, the guiding member 17 is parallel to the first direction Aso that the card 31 can be inserted into the second card receivingportion 13 b. Therefore, two cards same in shape and size can be fittedas illustrated in FIG. 2.

The guide frames 11 have inward surfaces faced to each other andprovided with frame guide grooves 11 a for guiding insertion and removalof the cards 31, respectively. The guiding member 17 is provided with apair of guide grooves 17 d for guiding removal of the cards 31. It isnoted here that, when a first card 31 is inserted into the first cardreceiving portion 13 a, one of the guide grooves 17 d of the guidingmember 17 serves to guide insertion of a second card 31 into the secondcard receiving portion 13 b.

As described above, unless the first card 31 is inserted into the firstcard receiving portion 13 a, the second card 31 can not be inserted intothe second card receiving portion 13 b. Thus, the first and the secondcard receiving portions 13 a and 13 b are given degrees of priority bythe guiding member 17.

Next referring to FIGS. 5 through 12, description will be made ofoperation of fitting the cards 31 into the card fitting mechanism.

When the cards 31 are not inserted into the first and the second cardreceiving portions 13 a and 13 b as shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, theguiding member 17 is rotated in the third direction C and rests in anopened state.

When the first card 31 is inserted into the first card receiving portion13 a, an inserting end of the first card 31 is brought into contact withan inner or rear side of the second guide portion 17 b as illustrated inFIG. 7. When the first card 31 is further inserted, the second guideportion 17 b is pressed by the first card 31 to rotate around the shaftportion 41 together with the first guide portion 17 a. When the firstcard 31 is still further inserted, the guiding member 17 is rotateduntil the guiding member 17 is located in parallel to the guide frames11 as illustrated in FIG. 8. In this state, the card-side contactingportions of the first card 31 are contacted with the contacts 21 of theconnector 15, respectively.

Thereafter, the second card 31 is inserted into the second cardreceiving portion 13 b as illustrated in FIG. 9. At this time, thesecond card 31 is guided by the frame guide groove 11 a of one of theguide frames 11 and one of the guide grooves 17 d of the guiding member17. Thus, the card contacting portions of the second card 31 arecontacted with the contacts 21 of the connector.

Referring to FIG. 10, a card 51 of an irregular shape may be inserted.

When the card 51 is inserted, the first guide portion 17 a is rotatedalong the shape of the card 51. When the card 51 is inserted, an end ofthe card 51 is brought into contact with the second guide portion 17 bas illustrated in FIG. 11. The second guide portion 17 b starts rotationin the second direction B. Simultaneously, the first guide portion 17 ais dragged by the second guide portion 17 b. As a consequence, the firstguide portion 17 a is released from engagement by the first stopperportion 45. Thereafter, a step portion 51 c on an outer contour of thecard 51 is brought into contact with the first guide portion 17 a. Thefirst guide portion 17 a is rotated in the third direction C againsturging force of the spring member 43 to be engaged with the secondstopper portion 46. Finally, the guiding member 17 takes a form alongthe outer contour of the card 51 as illustrated in FIG. 12. As describedabove, even if the card 51 has such an irregular shape, the guidingmember 17 is bent in conformity with the shape of the card 51 so as toallow the card 51 to be fitted.

Further, after the card 31 or 51 is removed, the guiding member 17returns to its initial position under the action of the tension coilspring 49 and the spring member 43. Thus, whether the card 31 or 51 isused, the guiding member 17 is returned to the uninserted state underthe restoring force of the tension coil spring 49 and the spring member43 after the card 31 or 51 is removed.

In the foregoing embodiment, the guide frames are formed on the baseplate 13. Alternatively, the guide frames and the base plate 13 may bereversed in position in a vertical direction. The card fitting mechanismmentioned above is applicable to various apparatuses, such as a PDA(Personal Digital Assistant) or a mobile telephone, adapted to use a SD(Secure Digital) memory card, a memory stick, a disk card, or the likeas a memory.

While the present invention has thus far been described in conjunctionwith the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be readily possible forthose skilled in the art to put the present invention into practice invarious other manners without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, although the description is made about the cardfitting mechanism having two card receiving portions, the card fittingmechanism may be designed to have three or more card receiving portions.In this case, it is a matter of course that the guiding member isdisposed each between adjacent ones of the card receiving portions.

1. A card fitting mechanism for receiving a card fitted thereto, saidcard fitting mechanism comprising: plurality of card receiving portionsarranged parallel to one another, each of said card receiving portionsbeing adapted to receive said card; and guiding member disposed betweenadjacent ones of said card receiving portions so as to enter intoadjacent ones of said card receiving portions, said guiding member beingmoved by insertion of said card into only one of said adjacent ones toserve as a guide for guiding insertion of said card into another of saidadjacent ones, said first guiding member having a first guide portionand a second guide portion rotatable with respect to said first guideportion.
 2. The card fitting mechanism according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a base plate defining said card receiving portions; a shaftportion perpendicular to said base plate and rotatably supporting saidsecond guide portion on said base plate; a connecting shaft portionparallel to said shaft portion and rotatably connecting said first guideportion to said second guide portion; a spring member urging said firstand said second guide portions so that a predetermined angle ismaintained therebetween; and another spring member urging said guidingmember to make said first guide portion enter into one of adjacent onesof said card receiving portion.
 3. The card fitting mechanism accordingto claim 2, further comprising a pair of guide frames disposed on saidbase plate with a space kept therebetween, said guide frames definingopposite ends of an array of said receiving portions.
 4. A card fittingmechanism for receiving a card fitted thereto, said card fittingmechanism comprising: a plurality of card receiving portions arrangedparallel to one another, each of said card receiving portions beingadapted to receive said card; a guiding member disposed between adjacentones of said card receiving portions so as to enter into adjacent onesof said card receiving portions, said guiding member being moved byinsertion of said card into only one of said adjacent ones to serve as aguide for guiding insertion of said card into another of said adjacentones; and a spring member urging said guiding member in one direction.5. The card fitting mechanism according to claim 4, wherein said guidingmember comprises: an assembly composed of a plurality of parts connectedto one another; and a spring member urging said assembly so that saidparts are arranged along a single straight line.
 6. A card fittingmechanism for receiving a card fitted thereto, said card fittingmechanism comprising: a plurality of card receiving portions arrangedparallel to one another, each of said card receiving portions beingadapted to receive said card; a guiding member disposed between adjacentones of said card receiving portions so as to enter into adjacent onesof said card receiving portions, said guiding member being moved byinsertion of said card into only one of said adjacent ones to serve as aguide for guiding insertion of said card into another of said adjacentones; and a shaft portion rotatably supporting said guiding member, saidguiding member having a first part and a second art, said first partbeing located on one side of said shaft portion and entering into one ofadjacent ones of said card receiving portions, said second part beinglocated on the other side of said shaft portion and entering into theother of adjacent ones of said card receiving portion.
 7. The cardfitting mechanism according to claim 6, further comprising a stopper forengaging said second part.